Our hearts are singing wildly
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e stood in line, each of us waiting to march across the stage. In theaudience were our parents and friends. “T’m about to puke,” said one of the guys. “We only go from crap to more crap,” said another. The girls seemed to be more serious about it. That’s why I didn’t reallytrust them. They seemed to be part of the wrong things. They and the schoolseemed to have the same song. “This stuff brings me down,” said one of the guys. “I wish Ihad asmoke.” “Here you are...” Another of the guys handed him a cigarette. We passed it around betweenfour or five of us. I took a hit and exhaled through my nostrils. Then sawCurly Wagner walking in. “Ditch it!” I said. “Here comes vomit-head!” Wagner walked right up to me. He was dressed in his grey gym suit,including sweatshirt, just as he had been the first time I saw him and allthe other times afterward. He stood in front of me. “Listen,” he said, “you think you're getting away from me because you'regetting out of here, but you're not! I’m going to follow you the rest of yourlife. I’m going to follow you to the ends of the earth and I’m going to getyou!” 123 Ijust glanced at him without comment and he walked off. Wagner’s littlegraduation speech only made me that much bigger with the guys. Theythought I must have done some big god-damned thing to rile him. But itwasn’t true. Wagner was just simple-crazy. We got nearer and nearer to the doorway of the auditorium. Not onlycould we hear each name being announced, and the applause, but we couldsee the audience.
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